mccarthy



March 3, 1964 J. .1. M CARTHY 3,122,909

PORTABLE LAUNDRY DEVICE Filed June 22, 1962 MrwT- m 2 2 1 5 INVENTOR JOHN .1. McCARTHY BY I 4 9L Z ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,122,909 PORTABLE LAUNDRY DEVICE John J. McCarthy, 2697 Riverside Drive, Lakewood 7, Ohio Filed June 22, 1962, Ser. No. 204,318 3 Claims. (Cl. 68219) This invention relates to laundry equipment, and more particularly to a device which enables a person to launder light fabrics in a sink or basin and which protects the hands from direct contact with hot water and/ or strong detergent solutions.

It is common practice in many instances to launder a few items of clothing by hand in a sink or basin. In these instances, the size of the wash load does not justify the use of a conventional washing machine and it is inconvenient and expensive to send the washing to a commercial laundry establishment.

Furthermore, many modern fabrics and woolen articles such as socks and sweaters cannot be machine laundered because of inherent characteristics such as shrinkage and fading. These articles are usually laundered in a cool or lukewarm detergent solution by gently pressing the article so that the detergent will contact the fibers of the fabric. Washing machines, and particularly automatic washing machines, cannot perform these operations because of the relatively violent agitating action during the washing and rinsing cycles of these machines.

The usual procedure followed in washing small laundry loads in a sink or basin is to immerse the hands into the detergent solution and press the solution through the clothes. This technique is objectionable if not dangerous in many instances, since many detergents are allergenic to some people and produce dermatological reactions.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for laundering light fabrics in a sink or basin which enables a person to wash and rinse fabrics without immersing his hands in detergent solutions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a lightweight device for laundering fabrics in a sink or basin that may be easily and conveniently packed in a valise or overnight case for traveling.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more fully understood from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, of a device according to this invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view taken from the plane of line 22 in FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, a hand operated washing device is illustrated which comprises an impervious sleeve 11, an operating handle 12, and an agitating cup 13.

As is shown in FIGURE 1, the operating handle 12 may be hollow to define a substantially closed chamber 14 therein. The purpose of this handle will become apparent and will be more fully explained below. The operating handle 12 is cylindrical and is reduced at its lower end to form a relatively small, externally threaded neck portion 15. The neck portion 15 extends into a relatively small opening 16 in the bottom of the sleeve 11. The sleeve 11 extends upwardly from the relatively small opening to surround the handle and has a relatively large opening 11a at its upper end. The neck portion 15 further extends into a relatively small opening 17 in the top of the agitating cup 13. The agitating cup 13 extends downwardly from the opening 17 and has a relatively large mouth 13a at its distal end.

An internally threaded cap 18 is screwed onto the neck portion 15 to tightly compress the lower portion of the sleeve 11 and the upper portion of the agitating cup 13 between a shoulder 19 of the handle 12 and a rim 20 of 3,122,909. Patented Mar. 3, 1964 ice the cap 18. The cap 18 is screwed onto the neck portion 15 with sufficient force to effect a water-tight seal between the shoulder 19 and the sleeve 11. If desired, however, the sleeve 11 may be permanently secured to the shoulder 19 by heat sealing or by a suitable cement to insure the aforementioned water-tight seal. A swivel valve 21 is provided in the cap 18 and has a bore 22 extending therethrough. The bore 22 communicates with a bore 23 in the cap 18 when the valve 21 is positioned in the vertical position shown and the chamber 14 is opened to the interior of the cup 13. When the valve 21 is swiveled to the position shown in the phantom lines of FIGURE 1, the bore 22 is no longer in alignment with the bore 23 and the chamber 14 is thereby sealed.

If a hollow handle is employed, as is illustrated in FIGURE 1, the chamber 14 is filled with a suitable liquid detergent (not shown). Furthermore, in the event that the handle 12 is hollow, the handle 12 is preferably fabricated from a stifliy flexible plastic so that the opera tor may periodically expel liquid detergent from the chamber 14 through the bores 22 and 23 when the valve 21 is in the previously described open position by squeezing the handle 12.

The agitating cup 13 is preferably flexible and may suitably be made from rubber or a suitable, stiiiiy flexible plastic material. The cup 13 preferably is fabricated so that a portion of its sidewall forms a plurality of staggered, concentric folds or pleats 24 which collapse when an axially directed, compressive force is applied to the agitating cup 13.

If desired, a metal coil spring (not shown) may be molded into the pleated portion of the agitating cup to insure an effective bellows-type action.

As may be seen more clearly in FIGURE 2, the distal end or mouth 13a of the agitating cup 13 is notched to form a multiplicity of spaced, flexible fingers 25. The fingers 25 are spaced closely together and define a multiplicity of relatively small openings or nozzles 25a therebetween.

In operation, soiled fabrics are placed in a suitable sink or basin and the desired amount of detergent and hot water. The operator then inserts his arm through the opening 11a and into the impervious sleeve 11 of the device 10 and grasps the operating handle 12. The sleeve 11 is preferably fabricated from a flexible waterproof material such as plastic so that the device may be conveniently packed in a valise or overnight case for traveling. The impervious sleeve 11 preferably extends up tothe elbow to not only protect the operators hand from contact with the wash water and detergent, but also to permit the operator to use the device without rolling up his sleeves and/ or removing his wrist watch.

The agitating cup is repeatedly pressed against the soiled clothing. This pressure causes the pleats 24 on the cup 13 to collapse and causes water, detergent, and/ or air to be driven through the soiled clothing. The washing action of the device is enhanced by the fingers 25 since a portion of the water, detergent, and/or air is forced through the relatively small openings or nozzles 25a between the fingers 25 and form a multiplicity of high pressure jets which drive the foreign matter out of the surrounding fabrics. The fingers 25 also serve to brush particularly the soiled areas of the fabrics and prevent a vacuum from forming within the cup 13 if the cup 13 is forced against the wall of the sink or basin.

During the washing cycle, the valve 21 may be opened so that the operator may squeeze detergent from the chamber 14 directly onto a heavily soiled fabric area. In this instance, the cup 13 may be placed directly over the soiled area to confine the concentrated detergent solutions as the operator applies the detergent and actuates the handle 12.

When the soiled clothing has been thoroughly washed, the wash water is drained and rinse Water is admitted to the sink or basin. To insure a rapid rinse, the device 10 is again employed to drive the clear rinse water through the fabrics and remove all traces of the detergent.

In the light of the above teachings, many other modifications and variations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood,

therefore, that Within the scope of the appended claims surrounding said handle and extending in a second direc- 20 tion from said handle, a valve between the chamber defined by said handle and the interior of said cup for periodically admitting liquid detergent from said chamber to the interior of said cup, a multiplicity of closely spaced flexible fingers extending downwardly from the mouth of 25 said cup, and a plurality of concentric, staggered pleats in said cup.

2. A laundry device comprising a hollow operating handle, said hollow operating handle defining a substantially closed chamber for holding liquid detergent, an agitating means fixed to one end of said handle and extending in a first direction from said handle, an impervious sleeve fixed to and surrounding said handle and extending in a second direction from said handle, and means between said chamber and said agitating means for admitting liquid detergent from said chamber to said agitating means.

3. A laundry device comprising a flexible hollow operating handle, said hollow operating handle defining a substantially closed chamber for holding liquid detergent and having a neck portion at its lower end, an agitating cup fixed to said neck portion and extending in a first direction from said handle and having a relatively large mouth at its distal end, an impervious sleeve fixed to and surrounding said handle and extending in a second direction from said handle, and a valve between the chamber defined by said handle and the interior of said cup for admitting liquid detergent from said chamber to the interior of said cup.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,075,584 Lnrtz Oct. 14, 1913 1,794,974 McCauley Mar. 3, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS 146,390 Austria July 10, 1936 320,413 Great Britain Oct. 14, 1929 1,110,104 France Oct. 5, 1955 OTHER REFERENCES 0 German printed application 1,109,637, June 29, 1961 

2. A LAUNDRY DEVICE COMPRISING A HOLLOW OPERATING HANDLE, SAID HOLLOW OPERATING HALIDE DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSED CHAMBER FOR HOLDING LIQUID DETERGENT, AN AGITATING MEANS FIXED TO ONE END OF SAID HANDLE AND EXTENDING IN A FIRST DIRECTION FROM SAID HANDLE, AN IMPERVIOUS SLEEVE FIXED TO AND SURROUNDING SAID HANDLE AND EXTENDING IN A SECOND DIRECTION FROM SAID HANDLE, AND MEANS BETWEEN SAID CHAMBER AND SAID AGITATING MEANS FOR ADMITTING LIQUID DETERGENT FROM SAID CHAMBER TO SAID AGITATING MEANS. 